Well, tonight, paula deen is back. Her first appearance after the scandal that embroiled her. And this evening, what she said that had people on their feet. Here's abc's aditi roy now. Reporter: Paula deen couldn't hold back her tears. These are tears of joy, y'all. Reporter: Receiving a ten-minute standing ovation from a houston, texas, crowd. The one place that I would want to make my first step back out was texas. Reporter: Her first public appearance since confessing in a deposition she used the n-word in the past. I had a little rough patch. Reporter: Her jokes, a stark contrast to her public appeal for mercy in june. I beg for your forgiveness. Reporter: A judge last month threw out a racial discrimination suit against deen, filed by her former restaurant manager, lisa jackson. But by then, the food network had dropped her show and the cooking star lost at least $12.5 million in endorsements. Some fellow celebrity chefs believe that deen can rebuild her empire. She should have a comeback. America is the land of second chances. She's a pretty tough woman. I -- don't count her out just yet. Reporter: A once culinary giant now seeking a recipe for redemption. Aditi roy, abc news, los angeles.

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